| Continentalcup1: | New Clubs in League |
| Nextseason: | 2010–11 |
The 2009–10 Football League (known as the Coca-Cola Football League for sponsorship reasons) was the 111th completed season of the Football League. It began in August 2009 and concluded in May 2010, with the promotion play-off finals. The Football League is contested through three Divisions. The divisions are the League Championship, League One and League Two. The winner and the runner up of the League Championship will be automatically promoted to the Premier League and they will be joined by the winner of the League Championship playoff. The bottom two teams in League Two will be relegated to the Conference Premier.
The league was won by Newcastle United, with West Bromwich Albion as runners up. Both teams were promoted to the Premier League. Sheffield Wednesday, Plymouth Argyle and Peterborough United were relegated into League One. Grimsby Town and Darlington were relegated from the Football League. Attendance levels in the Football League in the 2009–10 season were the highest for 50 years, with 17.1m people paying to watch games in the three divisions.[1]
The following teams were either promoted or relegated for the 2009–10 season based upon the results of the previous year.
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Replaced by | Date of appointment | Position in table | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blackpool | Simon Grayson | Signed by Leeds United | 23 December 2008[2] | Ian Holloway | 21 May 2009[3] | Pre-season | |
| Queens Park Rangers | Paulo Sousa | Sacked | 9 April 2009[4] | Jim Magilton | 3 June 2009[5] | Pre-season | |
| Reading | Steve Coppell | Resigned | 13 May 2009[6] | Brendan Rodgers | 5 June 2009[7] | Pre-season | |
| Watford | Brendan Rodgers | Signed by Reading | 5 June 2009[8] | Malky Mackay | 15 June 2009[9] | Pre-season | |
| Swansea City | Roberto Martínez | Signed by Wigan Athletic | 15 June 2009[10] | Paulo Sousa | 23 June 2009[11] | Pre-season | |
| West Bromwich Albion | Tony Mowbray | Signed by Celtic | 16 June 2009[12] | Roberto Di Matteo | 30 June 2009[13] | Pre-season | |
| Barnsley | Simon Davey | Mutual Consent | 29 August 2009[14] | Mark Robins | 9 September 2009[15] | 24th | |
| Middlesbrough | Gareth Southgate | Sacked | 21 October 2009[16] | Gordon Strachan | 26 October 2009[17] | 4th | |
| Peterborough United | Darren Ferguson | Mutual Consent | 10 November 2009[18] | Mark Cooper | 14 November 2009[19] | 24th | |
| Plymouth Argyle | Paul Sturrock | Sacked | 10 December 2009[20] | Paul Mariner | 10 December 2009 | 23rd | |
| Sheffield Wednesday | Brian Laws | Mutual Consent | 13 December 2009[21] | Alan Irvine | 8 January 2010[22] | 22nd | |
| Queens Park Rangers | Jim Magilton | Mutual Consent | 16 December 2009[23] | Paul Hart | 17 December 2009[24] | 12th | |
| Reading | Brendan Rodgers | Mutual Consent | 17 December 2009[25] | Brian McDermott | 27 January 2010[26] | 21st | |
| Preston North End | Alan Irvine | Sacked | 29 December 2009[27] | Darren Ferguson | 6 January 2010[28] | 16th | |
| Queens Park Rangers | Paul Hart | Mutual Consent | 15 January 2010[29] | Neil Warnock | 2 March 2010[30] | 10th | |
| Peterborough United | Mark Cooper | Sacked | 1 February 2010[31] | Jim Gannon | 2 February 2010[32] | 24th | |
| Crystal Palace | Neil Warnock | Signed by Queens Park Rangers | 2 March 2010 | Paul Hart | 4 March 2010[33] | 21st | |
| Bristol City | Gary Johnson | Mutual Consent | 18 March 2010[34] | Steve Coppell | 22 April 2010[35] | 15th | |
| Peterborough United | Jim Gannon | Mutual Consent | 6 April 2010[36] | Gary Johnson | 6 April 2010[37] | 24th | |
| Coventry City | Chris Coleman | Sacked | 4 May 2010[38] | Aidy Boothroyd | 22 May 2010[39] | 19th | |
| Plymouth Argyle | Paul Mariner | Mutual Consent | 6 May 2010[40] | Peter Reid | 24 June 2010[41] | 23rd | |
| Crystal Palace | Paul Hart | End of Contract | 17 June 2010 | George Burley | 17 June 2010[42] | 21st |
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Replaced by | Date of appointment | Position in table | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tranmere Rovers | Ronnie Moore | Sacked | 5 June 2009[43] | John Barnes | 21 May 2009[44] | Pre-season | |
| Milton Keynes Dons | Roberto Di Matteo | Signed by West Brom | 30 June 2009 | Paul Ince | 3 July 2009[45] | Pre-season | |
| Stockport County | Jim Gannon | Released, Consequently, Joined Motherwell | 6 May 2009[46] | Gary Ablett | 8 July 2009[47] | Pre-season | |
| Southampton | Mark Wotte | Sacked | 9 July 2009[48] | Alan Pardew | 17 July 2009[49] | Pre-season | |
| Norwich City | Bryan Gunn | Sacked | 14 August 2009[50] | Paul Lambert | 18 August 2009[51] | 22nd | |
| Colchester United | Paul Lambert | Signed by Norwich City | 18 August 2009 | Aidy Boothroyd | 2 September 2009[52] | 1st | |
| Tranmere Rovers | John Barnes | Sacked | 9 October 2009[53] | Les Parry | 16 December 2009[54] | 22nd | |
| Wycombe Wanderers | Peter Taylor | Mutual Consent | 10 October 2009[55] | Gary Waddock | 13 October 2009[56] | 23rd | |
| Brighton & Hove Albion | Russell Slade | Sacked | 1 November 2009[57] | Gustavo Poyet | 10 November 2009[58] | 20th | |
| Leyton Orient | Geraint Williams | Sacked | 3 April 2010[59] | Russell Slade | 5 April 2010[60] | 19th | |
| Oldham Athletic | Dave Penney | Sacked | 6 May 2010[61] | Paul Dickov | 9 June 2010[62] | 17th | |
| Gillingham | Mark Stimson | Mutual Consent | 10 May 2010[63] | Andy Hessenthaler | 22 May 2010[64] | 21st | |
| Milton Keynes Dons | Paul Ince | Sacked | 10 May 2010[65] | Karl Robinson | 10 May 2010 | 12th | |
| Colchester United | Aidy Boothroyd | Signed by Coventry City | 22 May 2010 | John Ward | 31 May 2010[66] | 8th |
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Replaced by | Date of appointment | Position in table |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burton Albion | Roy McFarland | Resigned | 18 May 2009 | Paul Peschisolido | 18 May 2009[67] | Pre-season |
| Darlington | Dave Penney | Signed by Oldham Athletic | 30 April 2009[68] | Colin Todd | 20 May 2009[69] | Pre-season |
| Port Vale | Dean Glover | Sacked | 21 May 2009[70] | Micky Adams | 5 June 2009[71] | Pre-season |
| Chesterfield | Lee Richardson | End of Contract | 6 May 2009[72] | John Sheridan | 9 June 2009[73] | Pre-season |
| Lincoln City | Peter Jackson | Sacked | 2 September 2009[74] | Chris Sutton | 28 September 2009[75] | 17th |
| Northampton Town | Stuart Gray | Sacked | 8 September 2009[76] | Ian Sampson | 5 October 2009[77] | 16th |
| Rotherham United | Mark Robins | Signed by Barnsley | 9 September 2009 | Ronnie Moore | 24 September 2009[78] | 1st |
| Darlington | Colin Todd | Mutual Consent | 26 September 2009[79] | Steve Staunton | 5 October 2009[80] | 24th |
| Crewe Alexandra | Guðjón Þórðarson | Sacked | 2 October 2009[81] | Dario Gradi | 2 October 2009[82] | 14th |
| Notts County | Ian McParland | Sacked | 12 October 2009[83] | Hans Backe | 27 October 2009[84] | 5th |
| Aldershot Town | Gary Waddock | Signed by Wycombe Wanderers | 13 October 2009 | Kevin Dillon | 9 November 2009[85] | 6th |
| Grimsby Town | Mike Newell | Sacked | 18 October 2009[86] | Neil Woods | 23 November 2009[87] | 23rd |
| Cheltenham Town | Martin Allen | Mutual Consent | 11 December 2009[88] | Mark Yates | 22 December 2009[89] | 20th |
| Notts County | Hans Backe | Resigned | 15 December 2009[90] | Steve Cotterill | 23 February 2010[91] | 6th |
| Bradford City | Stuart McCall | Resigned | 8 February 2010[92] | Peter Taylor | 17 February 2010[93] | 16th |
| Macclesfield Town | Keith Alexander | Death | 3 March 2010[94] | Gary Simpson | 14 April 2010[95] | 21st |
| Darlington | Steve Staunton | Sacked | 22 March 2010[96] | Simon Davey | 5 April 2010[97] | 24th |
| Barnet | Ian Hendon | Sacked | 28 April 2010[98] | Mark Stimson | 1 June 2010[99] | 22nd |
| Shrewsbury Town | Paul Simpson | Sacked | 30 April 2010[100] | Graham Turner | 11 June 2010[101] | 12th |
| Notts County | Steve Cotterill | End of Contract | 27 May 2010[102] | Craig Short | 6 June 2010[103] | 1st |